# UGC (user-generated content)

> UGC is content made by customers or creators rather than the brand, and a UGC ad is a paid ad shot in that casual, phone-filmed style.

Canonical: https://use-addy.site/glossary/ugc
Last updated: 2026-10-26

Also called: user-generated content, UGC ads

Most UGC ads today are not organic posts at all. Brands pay creators to film a talking-head review, an unboxing or a quick demo that looks like something a customer would post, then run it as an ad on Reels, TikTok or Shorts. The style works because it blends into the feed instead of looking like a commercial.

The term now covers three things: real customer posts a brand reposts with permission, paid creator videos made for ads, and AI UGC, where the creator is generated.

## Related

- [What is UGC marketing?](https://use-addy.site/blog/what-is-ugc-marketing)
- [UGC ads by industry](https://use-addy.site/ugc-ads)
- [AI UGC](https://use-addy.site/glossary/ai-ugc)
- [Usage rights](https://use-addy.site/glossary/usage-rights)
- [Spark Ads](https://use-addy.site/glossary/spark-ads)
- [Talking head](https://use-addy.site/glossary/talking-head)